Interferon beta(IFN-β) treatment exerts potential neuroprotective effects through neurotrophic factors and novel neurotensin/neurotensin high affinity receptor 1 pathway

Multiple sclerosis（MS）is a chronic autoimmune disease of the central nervous system（CNS）characterized by coexisting processes of inflammation,demyelination,axonal neurodegeneration,and gliosis.It is the most common disabling neurological disease in young adulthood.

Glyco-sphingo biology: a novel perspective for potential new treatments in Huntington's disease

Huntington＇s disease （HD） is the most common dominantly inherited neurodegenerative disorder, mainly characterized by the progressive striatal and cortical neurodegeneration and as- sociated motor, cognitive and behavioural disturbances （Zuccato et al., 2010）. The disease-causing mutation is an expansion of a GAG trinucleotide repeat （〉 36 repeats） encoding a polygluta- mine stretch in the N-terminal region ofhuntingtin （Htt） （Zuc- cato et al., 2010）, a ubiquitous protein whose function is still unclear （Zuccato et al., 2010）. Expansion of the polyQ stretch endows mutant Htt （mHtt） with toxic properties, and results in the development of a broad array of undesirable effects in both neuronal and non-neuronal cells （Zuccato et al., 2010）. Among all cellular dysfunctions and biochemical imbalances classically associated with HD, perturbed metabolism of （glyco） sphingolipids appears to play a crucial role in the pathogenesis of the disease. Over the last years, we and other have extensively contributed to these findings （Desplats et al., 2007;

Potential therapeutic effects of thymoquinone on treatment of amphetamine abuse

Dear Editor,The prevalence of drug abuse has diverted from traditional drugs such as opioid and cannabis to modern,synthetic and psychoactive drugs such as amphetamine groups,the amphetamine(AT)and methamphetamine[1].Amphetamine is used medically to treat several disorders such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder,narcolepsy,depression and minor obesity[2].However,AT has also gained

Non-Relativistic Treatment of a Generalized Inverse Quadratic Yukawa Potential

A bound state solution is a quantum state solution of a particle subjected to a potential such that the particle＇s energy is less than the potential at both negative and positive infinity. The particle＇s energy may also be negative as the potential approaches zero at infinity. It is characterized by the discretized eigenvalues and eigenfunctions, which contain all the necessary information regarding the quantum systems under consideration. The bound state problems need to be extended using a more precise method and approximation scheme. This study focuses on the non-relativistic bound state solutions to the generalized inverse quadratic Yukawa potential. The expression for the non-relativistic energy eigenvalues and radial eigenfunctions are derived using proper quantization rule and formula method, respectively. The results reveal that both the ground and first excited energy eigenvalues depend largely on the angular momentum numbers, screening parameters, reduced mass, and the potential depth. The energy eigenvalues, angular momentum numbers, screening parameters, reduced mass, and the potential depth or potential coupling strength determine the nature of bound state of quantum particles. The explored model is also suitable for explaining both the bound and continuum states of quantum systems.

New developments in the treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis

Leishmaniasis,including the cutaneous form,poses an important public health threat around the world,while no vaccine is currently available against any form of leishmaniasis.The drugs used in the first line treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis(CL)are commonly pentavalent antimonials despite their toxicities,long-term treatment duration and increasing resistance rates.Other alternatives are amphotericin B,pentamidine,miltefosine and paromomycine.Movement of the population,especially in endemic regions,increases the spread of the parasite and affectes the distribution of causative species,which requires re-evaluation the treatment regimen.Extensive researches are carried out on the treatment of leishmaniasis.The immunotherapeutic and targeted therapeutic approaches,formulations of carrier-loaded active drugs,local thermotherapeutic applications,the combination of antileishmanial drugs/compounds,the use of new synthetic and natural products are promising therapeutic options in the future.Herein,the author reviews the potential treatment modalities of CL with a brief overview of current treatments in the light of ongoing studies around the world.

Control of aliphatic halogenated DBP precursors with multiple drinking water treatment processes： Formation potential and integrated toxicity

The comprehensive control efficiency for the formation potentials（FPs） of a range of regulated and unregulated halogenated disinfection by-products（DBPs）（including carbonaceous DBPs（C-DBPs）, nitrogenous DBPs（N-DBPs）, and iodinated DBPs（I-DBPs）） with the multiple drinking water treatment processes, including pre-ozonation, conventional treatment（coagulation–sedimentation, pre-sand filtration）, ozone-biological activated carbon（O_3-BAC） advanced treatment, and post-sand filtration, was investigated. The potential toxic risks of DBPs by combing their FPs and toxicity values were also evaluated.The results showed that the multiple drinking water treatment processes had superior performance in removing organic/inorganic precursors and reducing the formation of a range of halogenated DBPs. Therein, ozonation significantly removed bromide and iodide,and thus reduced the formation of brominated and iodinated DBPs. The removal of organic carbon and nitrogen precursors by the conventional treatment processes was substantially improved by O_3-BAC advanced treatment, and thus prevented the formation of chlorinated C-DBPs and N-DBPs. However, BAC filtration leads to the increased formation of brominated C-DBPs and N-DBPs due to the increase of bromide/DOC and bromide/DON.After the whole multiple treatment processes, the rank order for integrated toxic risk values caused by these halogenated DBPs was haloacetonitriles（HANs）》haloacetamides（HAMs） 〉haloacetic acids（HAAs） 〉 trihalomethanes（THMs） 〉 halonitromethanes（HNMs） 》I-DBPs（I-HAMs and I-THMs）. I-DBPs failed to cause high integrated toxic risk because of their very low FPs. The significant higher integrated toxic risk value caused by HANs than other halogenated DBPs cannot be ignored.

Appropriate prescribing in the elderly: Current perspectives

Advances in medical therapeutics have undoubtedly contributed to health gains and increases in life expectancy over the last century. However, there is growing evidence to suggest that therapeutic decisions in older patients are frequently suboptimal or potentially inappropriate and often result in negative outcomes such as adverse drug events, hospitalisation and increased healthcare resource utilisation. Several factors influence the appropriateness of medication selectionin older patients including age-related changes in pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics, high numbers of concurrent medications, functional status and burden of co-morbid illness. With ever-increasing therapeutic options, escalating proportions of older patients worldwide, and varying degrees of prescriber education in geriatric pharmacotherapy, strategies to assist physicians in choosing appropriate pharmacotherapy for older patients may be helpful. In this paper, we describe important age-related pharmacological changes as well as the principal domains of prescribing appropriateness in older people. We highlight common examples of drugdrug and drug-disease interactions in older people. We present a clinical case in which the appropriateness of prescription medications is reviewed and corrective strategies suggested. We also discuss various approaches to optimising prescribing appropriateness in this population including the use of explicit and implicit prescribing appropriateness criteria, comprehensive geriatric assessment, clinical pharmacist review, prescriber education and computerized decision support tools.

Advances in treatment strategies for COVID-19:Insights from other coronavirus diseases and prospects

The coronavirus disease 2019(COVID‐19)pandemic is the third human disease outbreak caused by an emerging coronavirus in the 21st century.Caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2(SARS‐CoV‐2),the COVID‐19 pandemic has been the most devastating,with millions of deaths.Medical countermeasures are needed to limit the number of infections and fatalities.Here,we discuss advances in clinical and research‐based treatment methods for SARS‐CoV‐2 that were initially derived from treatments for other coronaviruses.Recent advances in SARS‐CoV‐2 treatments,from traditional drugs and immunotherapies to artificial intelligence to predict potential future treatment methods,are summarized and discussed.

Synergistic PM_(2.5)and O_(3)control to address the emerging global PM_(2.5)-O_(3)compound pollution challenges

In recent years,the issue of PM_(2.5)-O_(3)compound pollution has become a significant global environmental concern.This study examines the spatial and temporal patterns of global PM_(2.5)-O_(3)compound pollution and exposure risks,firstly at the global and urban scale,using spatial statistical regression,exposure risk assessment,and trend analyses based on the datasets of daily PM_(2.5)and surface O_(3)concentrations monitored in 120 cities around the world from 2019 to 2022.Additionally,on the basis of the common emission sources,spatial heterogeneity,interacting chemical mechanisms,and synergistic exposure risk levels between PM_(2.5)and O_(3)pollution,we proposed a synergistic PM_(2.5)-O_(3)control framework for the joint control of PM_(2.5)and O3.The results indicated that:(1)Nearly 50%of cities worldwide were affected by PM_(2.5)-O_(3)compound pollution,with China,South Korea,Japan,and India being the global hotspots for PM2.5-O3 compound pollution;(2)Cities with PM_(2.5)-O_(3)compound pollution have exposure risk levels dominated by ST t ST(Stabilization)and ST t HR(High Risk).Exposure risk levels of compound pollution in developing countries are significantly higher than those in developed countries,with unequal exposure characteristics;(3)The selected cities showed significant positive spatial correlations between PM_(2.5)and O_(3)concentrations,which were consistent with the spatial distribution of the precursors NOx and VOCs;(4)During the study period,52.5%of cities worldwide achieved synergistic reductions in annual average PM_(2.5)and O_(3)concentrations.The average PM_(2.5)concentration in these cities decreased by 13.97%,while the average O_(3)concentration decreased by 19.18%.This new solution offers the opportunity to construct intelligent and healthy cities in the upcoming low–carbon transition.